A Night at Tewkesbury Park - Review

The Cotswolds has been on my UK bucket-list for quite some time due to its quintessentially English villages, picturesque landscapes and abundance of world heritage sites and two weeks ago, I finally got the chance to go when I was invited down to review the Tewkesbury Park hotel. For those who are unfamiliar with the Cotswold, the Cotswolds stretches across five counties of England - Gloucester, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire. The Cotswolds is popular with tourists worldwide due to it's astounding beauty from the lush green fields, to villages nestled by rivers and in 1966, it was given an (AONB) and declared an 'Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty' by UK environmental agencies.

Tewkesbury is one of the many traditional medieval English towns in the Cotswolds which rests next to the River Avon and it is known for its vintage and antique shops, quaint coffee shops and Tewkesbury Abbey, the second largest parish church in England and a former Benedictine monastery which dates back to 715. Tewkesbury Park, is set in 163 acres of undulating parkland and overlooks the town and the famous site of the AD1471 Battle of Tewkesbury. The hotel completed its second phase of it's extensive two-year renovation at the cost of £4 million in the autumn of 2016, with the brand new addition of nine luxury historic suites, two new spa rooms, meeting rooms, an Orangery and a cocktail lounge and two weeks ago I was invited to check it out.

Driving up the steep hill to the hotel foyer, the views were impressive. You could see the abbey at the bottom and the golf course was vast with beautiful lush greenery, neatly trimmed hedges and picturesque forestry - it was idyllic and everything you would want for a few nights, undisturbed in the countryside. When we checked in, we were equally impressed with the hotel lobby which is decorated with regal blues and gold colourings. The bar was spacious with an beautiful log fire which is lit on an evening and in the entrance there's an antique piano with a sign welcoming guests to play.

Once we had checked in at reception, we headed to our room which was one of the new suites, the King Richard III suite on the third floor. The suite featured a gigantic king size Hypnos bed, a 40 inch Smart TV, a Nespresso coffee machine a separate dressing room complete with dressing table and wardrobe space and a large bathroom with a free standing bath and separate shower room. One of the things I loved the most about the hotel room was that it came with a hot water bottle and the hot water bottle was heated up when we came back to my hotel room after our evening meal. I suffer from chronic pain and cannot live without my hot water bottle at home, so it was lovely to have one readily available to me here and I really appreciated the fact that the filled it up during the turn down service.

Shortly after I had rested from my long four hour car journey, I was called down for my treatments in the spa. The hotel has several treatment rooms, a pool, outdoor Jacuzzi and sauna and stream, all of which are available to guests. I was booked in for a full body massage which was a lovely treat after sitting behind the wheel for hours and I loved the aroma that came from the natural, locally sourced body products that they used. The therapist used just the right amount of pressure that I like when I have a massage and when I left, I felt like all my knots had vanished. The full body massage was around 45 mins and when I was finished, I headed to meet my husband in the pool area. Since it was a lovely, bright day we both headed to the outdoor hot tub to soak up the sun. The hot tub just the right temperature and is hidden away in a courtyard so that you're able to relax in peace. I wore my brand new Boohoo swimsuit, which has the most beautiful summery print.

After we had finished around the pool, we headed back to the room to get changed for dinner and headed down to the bar. We both ordered a glass of house wine which came to £5 each, which I thought was really reasonable and then headed to the orangery for our evening meal. We ordered off the A La Carte menu which had lots of great choices with locally sourced ingredients - my only criticism is that the vegetarian options were rather limited, but I find this with most a la carte menus anyway. Overall the meal was wonderful and both my husband and I enjoyed it. The star of the meal was definitely my starter - the World Cheese Award winning Cerny Ash Goats Cheese with Cheltenham Heritage Beetroot, Balsamic pearls and beetroot crisp, it was a delight to eat.

When we headed back to our room, it was dark - that lovely countryside darkness that makes a room feel cosy. Our slippers had been left by the bedside, the hot water bottle was filled and the curtains were drawn ready for bed. I had one of the best nights sleep that I've had in a long time and in the morning, it was wonderful to open the curtains to a view of the golf course and greenery which stretched for many miles.

In the morning we headed down for breakfast - which was a usual hotel style buffet breakfast and then left the car in the car park and walked down to the town. It was lovely to stretch our legs and absorb the wonderful scenery before heading to our next location. Our stay at Tewkesbury Park was nothing less than brilliant - the staff were excellent, the location is superb and I felt like everyone went above and beyond to make us feel welcome. My only criticism is that there are no lifts and a lot of stairs, but I would still go as far as saying that this was one of the best hotels that I have stayed in.